Mattress



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. F. RUTH. MATTRESS.

No. 585,834. Patented July 6, 1897.

FIRE.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

L.F.RUTH, MATTRESS.

No. 585,834. Patented July' 6, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

LINFORD F. RUTH, OF CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

MATTRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,834, dated July 6, 189?.

Application filed July 24, 1895- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LINFORD F. RUTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Connellsville, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a certain new and useful Improvement in Mattresses, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a mattress which, while more particularly de signed for application in vehicles or vessels for the transportation of passengers, shall be likewise desirably adaptable to the require ments of domestic, hospital, camping, and

other uses and which shall embody the ad vantages of easy and comfortable support, cleanliness, freedom from sanitary objections, coolness, lightness, and capability of compact stowage when not in use.

To this end my invention, generally stated, consists in the combination of an expansible and collapsible air-tight mattress-casin g having its end portions bent or creased, so as to fold inwardly when collapsed and to form substantially unbroken surfaces when extended, and a series of sheet or plate stays connecting the upper and lower walls thereof.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a mattress embody-- ing my invention shown as expanded for use and with a portion of its top and one of its ends broken away; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section through the same when expanded; Fig. 3, a partial plan or top view; Fig. 4.,an end view, partly in section; Fig. 5, a partial vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 6, a vertical transverse section when partially collapsed; Fig. 7, an enlarged view in perspective showing one corner and the adjacent portions when partially collapsed and the end folds; Fig. 8, a partial horizontal section with the parts in the same position; Fig. 9, a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing a modification of the end folding; and Fig.

10 a partial horizontal section through the construction of Fig. 9.

My improved mattress, which may be of any desired dimensions suited to the location in which it is to be used, consists of the top and bottom pieces or sheets a, the end Walls Serial No. 556,970. (No model.)

b, and the side walls 0. These parts or portions of the mattress, which may be of ticking or other suitable fabric, lined with rubber, so as to be impervious to air, or may be made entirely of rubber, are secured together along the edges, so as to form a box-like structure having its walls Z) and c at or approximately at right angles to the top and bottom. To permit a compact stowage of the mattress when not in use, I provide for a transverse or longitudinal collapsing thereof, as distin guished from rolling it into a bundle of considerable bulk, as has been the practice in this class or kind of beds. In order to effect a regular transverse or longitudinal collapsing, the top and bottom are creased trans versely or longitudinally, as shown at e in Figs. 1, 3, 7, and 9, and the ends or sides are creased or bent in the manner, generally speaking, of an accordion, so as, when the mattress is inflated, to present a practically unbroken surface and when it is collapsed to lie in a series of closelyadjacent folds, thus enabling the mattress to be compactly closed up in a comparatively small space when not in use. Two forms of .end folding are illustrated in the drawings, but any other suitable and preferred style of end folding may be adopted.

As shown in'Figs. 3, 4c, 6, '7, and 8 the end pieces of the mattress-casing 1 are creased or bent on lines perpendicular to its top and bottom, so as, when the mattress is partially collapsed,to present alternate projectingfolds on lines of junction at and depressed folds on lines of junction 12, the projecting folds being at their ends connected alternately by folds c, projecting outwardly on the top and bottom of the casing, and by end folds d, projecting outwardly and downwardly on the end of the casing. The top, bottom, and ends or sides are folded or bent in the manner stated and clamped in such position. The edges of the several parts are then secured together and the mattress cured in the manner known in the art. It results from the curing of the mattress with the folds or bends clamped together in the position which they should assume when the mattress is collapsed that a set is given to the folds, so that they will have a normal tendency to close together when the air is permitted to escape. In other words, the collapsing or folding action of the mattress is automatic, as the folds or bends are resilient and have a constant tendency to assume a folded condition, and will remain in such position until forced apart by a pull on the ends or sides or internal fluidpressure.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate a modification in which the top and bottom folds c are omitted and the alternate projecting folds on the lines a are connected at their ends by the intermediate end folds cl.

The mattress thus constructed is provided With one or more openings or passages 2 for the admission and discharge of air in expanding or inflating the mattress into form adapted for use and collapsing or closing it up into small compass for stowage when not in use. The passages 2 are each controlled byasuitable cock or valve, and where separate inlet and outlet passages are employed the inlet-passage is adapted, as by a screw-thread or other well-known means, to be connected with and disconnected from an air-supply pipe, through which air is delivered from a pump or reservoir into the mattress. While two of these passages are shown in the drawings, it will be obvious that their number and location are merely matters of convenience in expanding and collapsing the mattress and are within the discretion of the constructor. In many instances a single passage will serve both purposes, while in others it may be found desirable to provide one or more inletpassages and one or more independent outlet-passages.

The top and bottomsurfaces of the mattress-casing 1 are connected one to the other independently of their end connections by a series of stays 3, which are preferably formed of sheets, strips, or plates of fabric of suitable strength and extend in parallel planes sub stantially the entire distance from one end or side of the mattress to the opposite end or side. The stays are shown in the drawings as extending longitudinally in the casing, which will ordinarily be found more desirable in practice than if located transversely, although they may be so located if preferred.

The function of the stays 3 is to form, by their connection in parallel lines to the top and bottom of the casing, a generally undulated surface made up of a series of adjoining curved surfaces on the top and bottom of the mattress when the same is expanded and to prevent bulging or distortion by the application of weight to any particular portion. They also serve to prevent an unduly rapid displacement of air fromany portion of the mattress which would otherwise cause it to change its form to an objectionable extent.

Openings or perforations 4 are made at intervals in the stays 3 to admit of the passage of air between the several compartments or chambers formed within the casing by the stays, and their ends are recessed or cut away to form passages between them and the ends of the casing for the same purpose, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. While ordinarily and preferably the stays extend contin uously throughout the length or width, as the case may be, of the mattress, it is not essential that they should be single or unbroken strips or that they should be equal in length to the full length or width of the mattress, as each stay might, if desired, be made of a series of separate pieces, and these might be separated one from the other for short distances.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. An expansible and collapsible air-tight mattress-casing having its top, bottom and ends or sides formed by alternate inward and outward resilient folds having a normal tendency to close together, substantially as set forth.

2. An expansible and collapsible air-tight mattress-casing having its sides and ends at or approximately at right angles to the top and bottom, and having its top, bottom and ends or sides formed by alternate inward and outward resilient folds having a normal tendency to close together, substantially as set forth.

3. An expansible and collapsible air-tight mattress-casing, having its upper and lower walls connected by a plurality of sheet or plate stays, and having its end portions bent or creased between said stays, as distinguished from seamed or jointed, the folds so formed being resilient and having a normal tendency to close together, substantially as set forth, whereby, when distended, to form practically continuous or unbroken surfaces, and when collapsed or drawn together in the longitudinal plane of the casing, the faces of the stays shall be brought together, and the end folds (determined by the previously-made creases) shall all be inward and'inside the general contour of the mattress-casing.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LINFORD F. RUTH.

Witnesses:

J. SNoWnEN BELL, F. E. GAITHER. 

